Vegetable Cassoulet

I love a good one-pot meal so I was so excited to make this week's Food Matter's Cookbook recipe {Cassoulet with Lots of Vegetables} chosen by Keely of Keely Marie. You can find the original recipe on Keely'swebsite! For other great takes on this recipe, go to The Food Matters Project website.

I made a vegetarian version topped with crunchy homemade breadcrumbs. One of my all time favorites is a Panzanella Salad. I really love how the bread soaks up the great flavors of the salad so I thought it would work well with this recipe. You can't go wrong here, after all who doesn't love bread!

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients:

leek

2 leek, chopped

4 carrot, chopped

3 celery stalk, chopped

4 garlic clove, minced

2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 vegetable broth

2 cup whole peeled tomatoes

28 oz whole peeled tomato, crushed by hand with juices

15 oz cannellini bean, rinsed and drained

4 Tbsp fresh parsley

2 Tbsp fresh parsely, for garnish

½ baguette, cubed

saltsalt, to taste

Directions:

Heat 2 Tablespoons of Olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.

Add the chopped Leeks, Carrots and Celery, season with salt and pepper.

Add Vegetable Broth, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for approximately 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir occasionally.

While the Cassoulet is cooking, make your breadcrumbs. I used a Sourdough Baguette because that's what I had leftover from dinner the other night. You can use any leftover bread, preferably day old bread works best.

Cut the bread into cubes, using a serrated knife.

Toss on a sheet pan with 2-4 Tablespoons of melted unsalted butter.

Season the breadcrumbs with salt & pepper and toss to combine.

Toast them under the broiler, watching very closely until golden brown. You can also bake them in a 350 degree oven. Set aside to cool. I like to pulse the bread in a mini food processor to make coarse breadcrumbs. (optional)

Once the Cassoulet is done, remove the bay leaf. Serve in bowls topped with breadcrumbs and fresh parsley.